What Can Electronic Music Festivals Learn from the National Football League?
By Marcus K. Dowling for Festival Advisor.
In order to best understand the how and why of festivals and food, it’s probably best to look at the reigning champion of people, places, food, and fun — sporting events at stadiums and arenas. Yes, long before Skrillex was dropping the bass in front of 100,000 people, the Dallas Cowboys were lowering the boom on their National Football League opponents in front of a similar number of people at Cowboys Stadium. Thus, it might be wise to observe trends in stadiums that could be best mapped onto our favorite fields-as-dance floors.
Looking towards the future, Atlanta Hawks Executive Vice President Brett Steffanson notes, “With the demand on pricing, there’s a higher demand on quality products. The quality is important to us even in basic foods like chicken fingers. For example, ours is locally sourced and fresh, not frozen.” A trend towards food truck vendors at festivals mirrors what’s happening in America’s stadiums. Food trucks, because of their ability to set up relatively quickly and also provide a diverse number of unique options to festival-goers, are de rigueur at most festivals nationwide. Because trucks are unable to freeze large quantities of food and are geared towards high-volume delivery, an impetus is placed upon fresh-first, above all else. Regarding price points for premium goods, festivals — namely music festivals that already target a clientele potentially well aware of “VIP” price markups — “people were taking out wads of twenties,” remarked Mexicali Taco & Co. co-founder Paul Yoo to Inc. about working in Coachella’s VIP sections. When people are already expecting a curated and comfortable experience, the onus on potential “sticker shock” push back from the customer base is lessened. In this way, festivals, unlike stadiums, are ahead of the curve.
Intriguing then to consider, are Capital One Arena’s 2019 renovations aimed at creating a tech-aided and faster delivery experience, from which festival culture could benefit. Capital One Arena concessions provider Aramark Sports & Entertainment installed self-ordering kiosks and “Pour Your Own Beer” walls to aid in uniquely and quickly feeding the capacity crowd of 20,000-plus per event attendees. Comparatively, the ability to provide food and drink for festival attendees at present could be benefitted from such advancements. “I was like, ‘Let’s bring every flavor we have!,’ and that was a huge mistake,” said Bon Puf Cotton Candy owner Cloe Lane about her first Coachella experience. “Someone who comes by just wants cotton candy. They don’t care that we have seven flavors,” she continued. An innovation that removes a layer of personal interaction for ease of digital convenience could allow for such significant diversity of options to be big business for festival vendors. For festival goers potentially afraid of missing a hot set or a peak-hour moment, this ease in and expedience of service is a benefit.
Ultimately, the great fascination of where this all heads is related to a quote from arena concession consultant Chris Bigelow regarding the future of food in arenas. “You can still get hot dogs, beer, and nachos because that’s what’s associated with the ballgame, but there’s so much more available now to create a more engaging, special experience for fans.” Festival culture may be ubiquitous. But still, as far as food options, there’s no food option that’s directly attached to the culture yet. Given though, that the levels of caloric intake needed to survive are inarguably at levels similar to those of pro athletes, food is important. What this allows for is the “engaging, special experience” part of the equation to be the accepted food-by-association. By comparison, whereas stadiums and arenas had to add “premium” items like steaks, sushi, and wine to appease “club seat” holders and a general population wanting to experience the “foodie” boom, festivals — because they lack the historical connection to a specific food as a draw of attendance — can instead offer local-to-globally sourced delights of literally any variety. Regarding food and festivals, do expect a wild, limitless, and rapidly evolving future.
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